


The Story of Us (DISCONTINUED)

by KILLMEINMYSLEEP (SnowBazIsLife)



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: 2007 Gerard Way, 2007 frank iero, Alternate Universe - High School, Art School Gerard Way, Artist Gerard Way, Bullying, Fluff, Frerard, Gay, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Moving In Together, New Jersey, New York City, Punk Frank Iero, Smut, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowBazIsLife/pseuds/KILLMEINMYSLEEP
Summary: Frank has had a crush on Gerard since like ninth grade, but Gerard was straight, right? Wrong, Frank learns, after something unexpected happens. This is the story of their life together, starting with that one day in March of senior year.I was a yeemo when I started writing this and I don't care to finish it sorry
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Ryan Ross/Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 46
Collections: Random Bandom





	1. One Night, Yeah, and One More Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm imagining like 2007/pro rev gerard and frank, but i suppose you can imagine them however you want.

Me and Gerard Way had never been the best of friends, but we weren't enemies either. And we were more than acquaintances considering we talked every day, but never more than pleasantries or small talk. We saw each other every morning and every afternoon because our spots in the school parking lot were right next to each other. My generic car looked like trash compared to his though. Gerard had an 81 Impala, jet black, and more flawless then Gerard's girlfriend, Lindsey's, face. Anyways let's say we were...friendly, at least until one day in March of senior year...

The final bell had rung, and I had walked out to my car to find Gerard leaning against his, smoking like he was the bad boy in literally any high school movie ever. It wasn't unusual for him to do this, but something had been off about him that day.

I had already thrown in my backpack in the backseat of my shitty used Honda Civic when he finally spoke up.

"Lindsey cheated on me." he said matter-of-factly, like he had no feelings on the subject.

"That sucks man, I'm sorry." I said, not entirely sure what else I could've said.

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything," he took a drag of his cigarette before continuing, "What makes it even worse, though, is that she cheated on me with _Bert_ of all people. I mean, who the fuck cheats on someone with their ex?" _His ex?_

"I didn't know you were gay." I said, a stupid look on my face.

"That's cause I'm not,"

"Huh? But I thought you said Bert was your ex?"

"I'm pansexual, Frank."

"Oh." I felt stupid for not remembering that that was a thing. I was totally fine with Gerard not being straight, I mean I'd be a total hypocrite if I wasn't, but _Bert?_ Bert McCraken was Belleville High's resident crackhead; at least he was before he got expelled for snorting a line of cocaine in the bathroom. I'd never talked to him, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

We stood there in silence for what seemed like forever, but in reality was only like 45 seconds. Gerard's lack of emotion towards his girlfriend cheating on him had thrown me off, and my brain hadn't been working properly because of it.

" so...um..." I coughed pointedly to try to convey that I didn't know what to say. But apparently I didn't have to because the next thing I knew, Gerard had me pinned up against my car with his body, his cigarette still in his hand, dangerously close to setting my hair on fire.

"G-Gerard what are you-" I barely had time time to stutter out before Gerard's lips crashed onto mine, his tongue instantly darting out to gain entrance to my mouth. Which I gave him immediately because I was a horny, gay, teenager, and I'd always thought Gerard was pretty hot. Our tongues danced for a few more seconds before Gerard pulled away abruptly, his face still hovering a few inches above mine.

"Bye, Frank." He whispered, his warm breath tickling my face. He smirked a little before getting in his _gorgeous_ car and driving away, leaving me standing there, confused and a little turned on, the taste of coffee and cigarettes still on my tongue.

I'll admit that I'd enjoyed that a great deal, but who wouldn't have? Gerard was one of the most popular guys in school, fucking hot as fucking hell, and, apparently, a phenomenal kisser. Everyone in the school either wanted to be Gerard, or just wanted him in general, and I could see why. His almost shoulder length black hair looked soft as shit, not to mention his perfect fucking body, and his gorgeous hazel eyes, which looked a bit like my own to be honest, but his were much greener and had a certain sparkle to them that mine lacked. And his girlfriend- ex girlfriend I supposed- was fucking flawless. Even I wouldn't object to fucking her and I _really_ don't swing that way.

Once the shock that had frozen me in place faded away, I got in my car, putting the keys in the ignition and starting it up. As I drove away, I could've sworn I saw one Jamia Nestor, Lindsey's best friend, out of the corner of my eye.

*** 

My heart was still beating at an abnormal pace by the time I pulled into my driveway ten minutes later. I was still confused, too. Why the fuck had he kissed me? I mean, the guy hadn't even seemed upset that his girlfriend cheated on him, so it couldn't have been for revenge. Maybe he'd been planning of breaking up with her anyway? Was it possible that Gerard-

"Frankie? Is that you?" My mother's shrill voice interrupted my thoughts the second I set foot through the doorway.

"Yeah, mom, it's me." I sighed frustratedly, and slipped off my vans with a practiced ease.

"Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, mom." I called as I made for the attic- which also happened to be my bedroom. If only she knew just how true that statement was.

-liked me? He couldn't have...could he? I mean he was Mr. Popular, and I was just the loser with a dumb haircut. He'd never been without a girlfriend, and I'd never been with one. And not just because I was gay. Hell, I'd hardly even kissed anybody other than my ex, unless you count a shitty game of Spin the Bottle in 7th grade. And, okay, I might've had a huge crush on Gerard since like the 9th grade, but I'd always known nothing could've ever come from it because he was gorgeous, popular, and most importantly, straight. Or at least I'd thought that he was. But even now that I'd known that he wasn't exactly straight, he was still gorgeous and popular, and I just _wasn't_. If you asked me, I looked like a greasy Italian rat, and Gerard looked like, I don't know, Jesus or some shit. Geesus, if you will. But what if, against all evidence, he had liked me? If he hadn't, why did he kiss me like that? Like he really wanted me. Just thinking about the way he'd kissed me had set my heart beating like a snare drum once again, jolting me out of my Gerard-induced daze. I sighed frustratedly, yet again, and moved off of my bed over to my desk to start my dreaded 6-page paper on the effects of the Renaissance on Northern Europe. Fun. And to make matters worse, I had to do the whole thing while avoiding thinking about Gerard, which was especially difficult given the nature of the Renaissance, which was very artistic, and you know who just happened to be the most artistic motherfucker on the planet? Gerard. 

*** 

I'd almost dreaded going to school the next morning, if only for the imminent awkwardness between Gerard and I upon arrival. I'd expected the awkward side glances and the mutual ignorance of the subject at hand. What I had not expected, however, was that the fucker had the _audacity_ to kiss me _again_. But that time there were people around. Witnesses to Gerard fucking Way fucking kissing me like he did it all the fucking time. Great. Fan-fucking-tastic. And it'd totally helped that it wasn't a short and sweet kiss either. It was just like the other one, but, if anything, more passionate. Please note my extreme sarcasm. 

My face was as red as a baboon's ass by the time Gerard pulled away. A disappointed whine escaped my mouth before I had the chance to even think about stopping it. Gerard didn't comment on the pathetic noise I had just made, but instead just smirked. 

"So is this like a thing now or..." I said, my face screwed up in confusion disguised as humor, and somehow redder than a baboon's ass. If a baboon's ass and a firetruck somehow fucked, and, by some weird miracle shit, had a baby, it'd be my face at that moment.

"I don't know." Gerard dismissed me with a wave of his hand, and walked away without a second glance. I had to go that way too, but I didn't want to add any unnecessary awkwardness to the situation, so I waited a few minutes. Everyone was staring at me, and they were still staring at me as I walked to math. 

I'd never paid much attention in math, so it wasn't that different when I spent the period daydreaming about Gerard and taking half assed notes. I was kind of glad for Stagecraft though because it forced my attention to the power tools in my hands and the noise drove all thoughts of Gerard's lips on mine away. But the droning voice of the narrator of our audiobook in English class invited them back in.

It had gotten harder to believe that Gerard had only kissed me to get back at Lindsey now that he had kissed me twice. But maybe he wanted it to get around the whole school? No, that couldn't be it. His friends were all homophobic super-jocks, and wouldn't take the fact that he wasn't exactly straight well. Fuck. The entire school definitely knows that Gerard kissed me by now. And the fact that it was me didn't help because not only was I 1. a guy, and 2. one of the only out gay kids, but I was also 3. a loser. Why the fuck would he risk basically everything just to kiss me? If he'd just wanted revenge on Lindsey, yesterday, with only Jamia around to see, would have been enough. Jamia, who would tell Lindsey, who wouldn't tell anyone else. While she may have cheated on him, I knew she was a good person, and still cared about Gerard too much to do something like that to him. And Gerard knew that, obviously, because he's not stupid. He was something of a genius, actually. But that meant that Gerard must've done it because he really...wanted to? I couldn't even fathom the idea. 

I don't think I'd ever been more glad for lunch. My friends could take my mind off Gerard, if only for the 35 minutes of lunch anyway. It had to do until I could talk to him myself, which I'd decided I was going to do via unconscious decision. 

"Frank!" The, what can only be described as, loud voice of one of my best friends, Pete, exclaimed the moment I sat down at our table. 

"What?" 

"A little birdie told me," Pete paused to wink a Brendon, another one my best friends, who I'd liked to call Mr. Forehead if he was pissing me off. Which he usually was. But the gesture went unnoticed by Brendon because he was to busy making love eyes his boyfriend, Ryan. 

"Well, more like two little love birdies," Brendon tore his eyes away from Ryan to shoot Pete a dirty look. Pete rolled his eyes and continued, "Anyway, they told me that you were seen kissing _Gerard Way_ this morning. Is this true?" 

"Well..." I started.

"Oh. My. Jesus. It _is_ true! I totally didn't believe it but it's true!" Pete was nearly vibrating with excitement. 

"But technically _he_ kissed _me_." 

"That's true. I saw it with my own two eyes." Ryan said, finally speaking up. 

"Wait so, Gerard Way, _the_ Gerard Way, one of the most popular guys in school, _that_ Gerard Way, _kissed you?_ " I nodded, "Why?" I just shrugged, not wanting to voice my suspicions. 

"Man, his friends are going to give really give him shit over that when they get back."

"Get back? Where are they?" 

"At some football conference or something." I sighed, immense relief overcoming me, which was quickly ruined by a twinge of fear for the future. Because they _will_ come back, probably soon, and they _will_ find out, and they _will_ indeed give Gerard shit, and then everything _will_ be, really and totally, fucked. 

*** 

My last class of they day did not give me the distractions I was looking for. All we did was watch The Great British Baking Show. I wasn't particularly fond of The Great British Baking Show, so, of course, I spent the entire period daydreaming about Gerard, again. I seemed like that's all I did that day. I'd decided that I was going to confront Gerard, ask him why he keeps kissing me, and see where it goes from there, immediately after class.

The second the final bell rang, I bolted out of the door in hopes that I could make it to my car before Gerard got there. My hopes were not in vain, because he was nowhere to been seen when I unlocked my car, threw my bag in the backseat, and positioned myself against my car, trying to radiate the confidence that I so desperately lacked. 

Gerard walked out of the front doors of the school and, before I was even remotely ready, approached his own car the same way he did every day. Of fucking course he was still ignoring the subject. 

"Aren't you going to kiss me again?" I asked, my voice emanating my obviously fake confidence. 

"I wasn't planning on it. Why, did you want me to?" Gerard said, not even giving me time to answer before getting in his car. I didn't even have to think before throwing open the passenger door, and climbing in just as he started to pull out of his spot. 

"Frank? What the fuck?" Gerard's face was confused, but intrigued. My heart started pounding in my chest. This was it. If my suspicions were correct, which I assumed they were, things were about to get very, very good. and then very, very bad. 

"Look, Gerard, we need to talk." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I'm already working on the second chapter but I have a horrible writing system and schedule so bare with me. Feel free to tell me if there's anything you don't like about the chapters, or if there's something that you want to happen. With the nature of the story being the story of Frank and Gerard's life together, I might be able to have your idea be a chapter.


	2. Ever Since We Met

"Oh really now. Do we?"

"Yes, we do, because you keep kissing me and leaving me confused."

"That sounds like a you problem."

"It's not a me problem, it's an us problem, okay?" My voice broke a bit on the last word, and I didn't quite know why.

"Fine. Go on." He said, his cocky, arrogant, assholish exterior softening.

"Why the fuck do you keep kissing me? Cause I'm really fucking confused." I felt near tears, and I realized that I actually cared for that fucker, that it wasn't just about how attractive he was.

"You're not the only one who's confused." He probably could've seen the "huh" on my face. In fact, he must've seen it because he looked straight at me and started to explain. At this point, it was obvious that his stony exterior was completely dissolved, as if my voice was acid that broke down the walls he'd built around himself.

"I kissed you the first time because I saw Jamia standing there, and I wanted Lindsey to know that we were done, and I couldn't tell her myself because I'm a coward. I know she cheated on me, but we were so close for so long and," he took a shallow and slightly shaky breathe before continuing, "I didn't want to hurt her like she hurt me." I wonder if you could've heard my heart breaking for Gerard right then. I'd always thought that he was just a really hot, arrogant, asshole like the rest of them, but in actuality, he was a total sweetheart who would never willingly hurt someone.

"You're not a coward," I whispered, pausing for a moment before starting again, "What about the second time?"

"I kissed you again this morning because I couldn't get the feeling of your lips on mine out of my head. I kissed you because I couldn't stop myself. I haven't been able to get you off my mind all day." I gasped. Well more like inhaled sharply through my nose but that doesn't flow as well, does it?

"Me neither." I said, barely audible over the sound of my heart beating like I was running a marathon or some shit. Seriously, what was it about Gerard that made my heart decide to do somersaults all of a sudden?

I had suspected that that was why he had kissed me, but I hadn't actually let myself believe it because if I had been wrong, my heart would have shattered into a million pieces, and nothing, not even time, would have been enough to put it back together.

"And," I wasn't expecting Gerard to continue, but he did, "it took me kissing you for me to realize that I had feelings for you. Feelings that were about as far from platonic as you can get." He lowered his forehead to the steering wheel, presumably in embarrassment. The silence that followed was deafening.

"Oh,"I said, hoping that it sounded more inquisitive than disappointed. I wasn't entirely sure how to continue. I felt like I was walking on sunshine and eggshells at the same time. He actually liked me, but I didn't think that he'd want to be with me because it was ruin his current social status, which was already in danger due to this morning's events, so I was hesitant to admit that the feelings were mutual.

Once it'd been over a minute of uncomfortable silence, and Gerard still hadn't picked his head up from the steering wheel, I started to get worried.

"Gerard, are you okay?" I whispered tenderly, placing a hopefully comforting hand on his shoulder. He seemed to lean into the touch, so I began to lightly stroke his shoulder blade with my thumb.

"Y-yeah I just..."

"What is it, Gerard? It's okay, you can tell me." He sighed, finally sitting up and looking at me, my hand still placed gently on his shoulder.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Gerard muttered under his breath, "so... Do you want to maybe... I don't know... You know what? It's stupid. Forget I said anything." He shook my hand off of his shoulder.

"It's not stupid."

"You don't know what I was going to say,"

"I think I do,"

"Oh, really? What was I going to say?" Some of Gerard's usual cockiness was returning.

"You were going to ask me out." I winked at him, and his face immediately went beet red. He looked like he was about to melt right onto the vintage leather seats. Huh. I wasn't aware that I had the ability to make guys like Gerard melt. Or any guys for that matter. I was simply just not hot enough to make guys melt. You know who is though? I bet you think I'm going to say Gerard, but no, it's Andy Biersack. That motherfucker shouldn't be allowed to be that fucking hot. No one should for that matter.

"Shit." Gerard breathed, making me laugh a little. Fuck, he's adorable when he's flustered.

"Are you still going to?"

"If I did, what would you say?" That fucking dork.

"Yes, of course. I've only had a huge crush on you since like the ninth grade."

"Really?" Gerard seemed awfully confused, which surprised me because I thought I'd made it fairly obvious.

"Who hasn't? You're fucking gorgeous."

"No I'm not,"

"Do you not own a mirror? You're beautiful." He really was. He had an adorable nose, perfect eyebrows, angelic eyes, the most kissable lips I'd ever seen, and a jawline that could cut a bitch.

"Whatever you say, Frank." Gerard lowered his eyes, essentially refusing to look at me.

"So are you going to ask me out or not? I'm not going to do it for you."

"Just give me a second," I really wanted him to ask me out, so I was willing to wait. But then his "second" turned into a minute, which turned into more like five.

"Look at me," I murmured, pausing to give him time to comply. Once he did, I proceeded carefully, "you can do this. Just breathe. You already know I'm going to say yes, so what are you worrying about?" I ended with a smile.

Still looking at me, Gerard took a deep breath, and started to speak, "You're right," he gently grabbed my hand in both of his, his eyes darting downwards to glance at it, before his eyes met mine once again, "Frank Anthony Thomas Iero Jr." Gerard said, which surprised me. I didn't know that he knew my whole name. Not a lot of people do, considering it's so long. I don't even think Pete knows it. I internally cursed myself for thinking about Pete at a moment like this.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" I knew he was going to say them, but the words still seemed to knock the breath out of me.

"Yes," I said, a little breathless despite the preparation I thought I had.

"What now?" Gerard asked.

"I don't know," I mean, I had a few ideas, but I didn't know what Gerard would be comfortable with, so I chose what I perceived to be the safest option.

"Do you want to go to my house? It's just me and my mom ever since my dad died, and she's working the night shift tonight." I hoped that it didn't sound like the classic, "my parents aren't home." because that's not what I was trying to imply. I was trying to imply that he wouldn't have to worry about my mother's invasive questions. Not that he knew about those anyway.

"You know what? That actually sounds great. I'll just tell my mom that I'm sleeping over at a friend's house tonight."

"Alright, perfect." I said as I thrust open the car door, causing Gerard to protest.

"Wait, don't leave me!" He exclaimed.

I giggled a little before replying, "Wouldn't dream of it, babe. I'm just going to get my bag. I don't mind leaving my car here overnight as long as it's locked."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything." I said, stealing Gerard's line from earlier, before climbing out of the car, grabbing my bag from where I'd thrown it in the backseat, and triple checking that my car was locked.

I may have seemed like I was all calm and collected, but in reality I was wholeheartedly freaking out. I was about to have _Gerard Way_ -my _boyfriend_ \- in my _house_ , and probably my _bedroom_ too, if everything goes according to plan. Not like _that_ , you dirty minded infidel. He said that he was sleeping over, and I wasn't going to have him sleep on the couch to be subjected to my mother when she arrived home. No. He'd have to sleep in my room. In my bed, because I was not going to let that pulchritudinous specimen sleep on the floor. Look at that, there's a fancy word that describes exactly what I mean. Look it up if you must. Anyway, I wasn't going to let him sleep on the floor, so I guess I'd have to, which I totally worth it, given the situation.

"Did you want me to drive?" I said, breaking my own train of thought, "You know, because you don't actually know where my house is." I set my bag in my lap, and looked over at Gerard questioningly.

"I don't usually let people drive my car," I could see why. Have I mentioned that it was fucking _gorgeous_? "but you're right, and I trust you, so I'll make an exception this one time."

We both got out of the car and switched places. Once we were settled in, my bag now thrown in the back with his, and I had the keys, Gerard gave me a warning look, "but if you hurt her, I _will_ have to kill you." I laughed out loud at that, provoking a laughing fit out of Gerard as well. My right hand found its way into his left, our fingers intertwined.

"Her?" I inquired, genuinely interested.

"Yeah," Gerard said embarrassedly, "her name's Betty."

"Betty? Why?"

"I don't know, actually." Again, what a fucking dork.

"Alright, then." I started the engine, with some difficulty because of the loss of my right hand, backed out of Gerard's spot, and began towards my house.

***

"So...this is the place." I said as I pulled into my driveway. Gerard's car looked awfully out of place amongst the dusty white exterior and the mossy trellis.

"Nice." Gerard simply said, his face showing the same indifference. I was dismayed when we had to disentangle our fingers in order to get out of the car, but felt immediately better when, the moment we started for the front door, Gerard laced our fingers once again. I smiled impossibly wide, so wide I wouldn't have been surprised if my mouth just fell off my face. I _was_ surprised when I looked over at Gerard and saw that his smile was just as broad.

"What do you want to do?" I knew what I wanted to do that night, but it was only about three o'clock, so I had decided to leave it up to him until later.

"I want to..." He thought for a minute, "get to know you. I've talked to you ever day for like three years, and I know the basic things about you, enough to develop feelings for you anyway, but I want to know more." I was actually taken a bit off guard. It seemed like Gerard actually had a genuine interest in me. Which I was so glad for because I had a genuine interest in him, too, despite the way I've described him thus far. Gerard was so artistic, talented, artistically talented, determined, authentic, and unbelievably compassionate. Not to mention his unmistakable intelligence and empathy. I was overly excited for the upcoming events.

"One condition: I get to ask questions too. Deal?"

"Deal!" Gerard found his way to the couch, patting the spot next to him, gesturing for me to sit down beside him. I did, obviously

"Okay, first question. Are you more likely to dance or sing when you hear your favorite song?" That was not the kind of question I had been expecting, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

"Dance, definitely. I hate my singing voice."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is,"

"I'm sure that it is," I was not confident in my singing voice whatsoever, so I wasn't going to relent.

"If you say so. I guess I'll just have to get you to sing sometime so I can see for myself."

"Sure," I said, dropping the subject so I could ask a question of my own, "What do you believe is the source of true joy and happiness?" I decided to go serious with my questions because people's beliefs and ideas are more transparent to their personalities than superficial things.

"Love." Gerard stated plainly without even having to think about it at all. I just nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing.

"If you had to evacuate your home, what would you take with you?"

"Honestly? My guitar." I chuckled at my materialistic answer.

"You play?" He cocked his head to the side inquisitively.

"Yeah... I'm not any good though." I said, hoping that would put him off asking me to play for him.

"What's with you belittling your talents? Now I'm going to have to get you to sing _and_ play for me!"

"Next question!" I declared evasively, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"With you." Gerard said, a cheesy smile on his face.

"You tacky motherfucker." I remarked, though I was grinning like an idiot.

"You love it."

"You're right, I do."

We went on like that, asking and answering questions, until Gerard got bored and hungry.

"Fraaankieee," he drawled, whining, flopping onto my lap, "I'm huuungryy!" I was taken aback by both the nickname- only my mother called me Frankie- and the fact that Gerard was _in my lap_.

I was becoming increasingly aware that our relationship was evolving much faster than the only other I'd ever had, but I honestly didn't mind. It had only been two hours, but it felt like it'd been months, and I realized that I hoped it would never end. The way that Gerard was acting suggested that he was just as into me as I was into him, so I was willing to continue treating our two hour relationship like a two month one.

"What do you want to eat then?"

"How's food sound?" I rolled my eyes at Gerard's satirical comment, and playfully booped his nose.

"Don't be a sarcastic little shit," he pouted at me, "come on, kitchen's that way." I said, signaling for Gerard to get up by nudging him with my knee, and pointing left, towards my small and, frankly, slightly dirty kitchen.

I know I'd been teasing Gerard, but I was pretty sure that he knew that there was adoration behind it. At least, I hoped he knew.

"My mom hasn't had a lot of time to go shopping lately so all we have is..." I opened the fridge, "some leftover pizza. Is that all right?"

"Sounds great to me. Thanks Frankie." Gerard chimed, pecking my lips before grabbing a slice. I instantly froze in shock. It's not that we hadn't kissed before, because, obviously, we had, but it was never casual and innocent like that. I can't deny that I enjoyed it though.

Gerard must have noticed my bewilderment, as he asked, pizza forgotten, "Are you okay, Frank? Did you not like that? Is it too soon? I'm sorry." His face was worried and slightly guilty.

"Oh, no, Gee, I liked it, I was just...surprised, that's all! Don't feel bad!" I said, using a nickname I'd heard one of his friends using during one of the rare occasions where I was within ten feet of those assholes. Gerard himself was showing a bit of surprise now, but he just smiled. I enveloped him in a hug, physically expressing just how fine everything was.

"This is nice, but can we eat now? I'm starving!" Gerard said after a solid three minutes of being wrapped up in my arms.

"Yeah, but one thing first." I held the left side of his face, one arm still around his waist, and kissed him deeply, both of us smiling candidly.

We then ate, avidly discussing last week's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. How didn't I know that Gerard was gay- well, pan -earlier?

"How could they just eliminate Lady Ivory Bouvier? She was so fabulous! She didn't deserve that passive aggressive _'sashay away'_." He said, dramatic upset displayed all over his face.

"I know, I know." I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder for the second time that day, but for a very different reason, with a very different energy.

"Want to get your mind off the tragic loss of the majestic Lady Ivory?"

"Yes, please." He fake sniffled.

"Then come on," I pulled on his hand, "let's go watch a movie." Gerard compliantly followed me up the stairs to my bedroom.

Once inside, I started to freak out a bit. It seemed like that's all I did that night. I mean, who wouldn't have? I had _Gerard motherfucking Way in my bedroom_. I don't think that I had let myself process that he was my _boyfriend_ until then. My stomach was tied up in knots and felt like it was being eaten alive by butterflies. It was a good feeling, though, one that made me feel all warm inside. I was happy, safe. It was remarkable, truly. In those past hours, I could sense that Gerard was going to be the only thing on my mind for the foreseeable future, and possibly beyond.

I picked up my laptop from my desk, and sat in front of the headboard of my bed, motioning for Gerard to sit next to me. He did, but significantly farther away than I wanted. I hoped he'd get closer once the movie started.

I never turned on the lights in the first place, so neither of us had to get up to turn them off. I opened my laptop, loading up Netflix. We began browsing, not quite sure what we were in the mood for, until Gerard spotted something that piqued his interest.

"Wait, what's that?" He pointed to the screen. It was a movie titled, _Emo the Musical_. I nearly laughed out loud at just the description.

"Can we watch it? Please please please?!" Gerard quite nearly begged.

" _Yes!_ " I said heartily. I started the movie, instigatingly throwing my arm over Gerard's shoulders. Which worked, by the way, because he immediately cuddled up to me, wrapping his arms around my middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that there isn't that many people who left kudos so far, but thank you so much to those who did! It makes me so happy when people leave kudos and/or comment *hint hint*. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Also, I've never actually seen RuPaul's Drag Race, and just used a drag name generator.


	3. I'm Not Dead I Only Dress That Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look it only took me two weeks to update instead of a month 😮

We must have fallen asleep like that, because the next thing I knew some random sitcom was autoplaying on my laptop, and my room was pitch black except for the screen. I glanced at the time. It was roughly 3 am. I shut my laptop, set it on my nightstand, and tried my best not to disturb Gerard, his head still resting on my chest, as I maneuvered my way onto the floor. Like I said, I wasn't going to let him sleep on the floor, and, though I really wanted to, I wasn't going to just assume that he was comfortable with sleeping in the same bed. You know what they say about assuming, it makes an ass out of you and me. And, while I like ass, I didn't want to be one.

My carpet was quite plush, so it wasn't going to be the worst of experiences, but it would be hell on my back. Lucky for me, I kept extra blankets under my bed, but just as I went to grab one, I heard Gerard stir above me. He let out a disappointed whine.

"Fraaankieee...?" He called out into the darkness.

"Yeah, Gee?" Gerard leaned over the side of the bed to look at me on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He said sleepily, "Get your ass back up here. You're comfy." I couldn't argue with that. I also couldn't deny him anything when he was that adorable.

I climbed back into bed, and, without delay, Gerard latched onto me like I was his life support. I would say that's because I was, but I don't want to think that highly of myself. It _had_ only been twelve hours. I had never felt so content as I did when I wrapped my arms around him and we both fell back into a peaceful sleep.

***

"Frank?" My mom called from the bottom of the stairs. I'd only half registered the fact that someone was yelling for me by the time she burst through the door. My eyes were hardly even open.

"Since I didn't see you last night I thought I'd-" she cut off mid sentence, "Who's that?" it hadn't even occurred to me that I still had Gerard attached to me like a leech. A nice leech, though. A cute one. One so cute I didn't mind if it drank my blood. You couldn't see his face because it was buried in my chest. Not that she would have recognized him if you could've. God I was dumb in the morning. 

"Uh...this is Gerard."

"And Gerard is...?"

"My boyfriend" I mumbled.

"Could you please speak up? I'm not as young as I used to be you know."

"He's my boyfriend!' My raised voice must have roused Gerard awake because the next thing I knew he was sitting up, yawning adorably. Who am I kidding, he does everything adorably.

"Who's your boyfriend?" He murmured.

"You, dumbass." 

"Oh, yeah, right," he looked at me, "Why were you yelling?' I pointed across the room to my mother, who was still standing there, watching us. Gerard turned his head in the direction I was pointing.

"Oh!" He said when his eyes met my mother's, "good morning!" Apparently Gerard acted slightly drunk when he was sleepy. It was kind of funny, actually.

"Good morning. It's nice to meet you, Gerard. I'm Linda." She said cordially, though her face was awfully smiley, and I could tell that she was happy for me. I'd only had a serious boyfriend that I'd brought home once before. It was decent while it lasted, but it had never been meant to last forever, and it ended terribly anyway. But there was no need to think about that when I had this beautiful boy by my side.

"You must be Frank's mom! Your son is _fantastic_ by the way. You did a great job with him." Gerard said. In an attempt to hide my embarrassment, I buried my face in his shoulder, which only succeeded in embarrassing me more, because they went on talking about me. Fucking bitches. I love them, though. Wait, fuck, did I say that I loved Gerard? I did, didn't I? What was wrong with me? It had only been twelve hours for christ's sake! You know what? It's fine. I'll just suppress my emotions and then one day, I'll die. It's fine. Gerard and my mother ended their conversation with a fit of laughter induced by disturbing stories from when I was a baby.

"Anyhow, Frank," I exposed my face at the mention of my name being actually directed at me, "I came up here to tell you that I made breakfast. You two should get ready before coming down though." My mom said. She turned on a heel and left with a wink.

It looked as if Gerard and my mom got on pretty well almost immediately. That was inherently a good sign. With my ex-boyfriend she didn't get along with him so well. The fact that she did with Gerard gave me the feeling that this relationship was going to go much better and longer than that one. The thought made me indescribably happy. It made my heart beat faster and a pleasant tingly feeling spread throughout my chest.

I got out of bed, stretching my entire body out. I'd assumed that Gerard was doing the same, but I didn't know for sure because my back was to him. Which was why I jumped approximately three feet in the air when he tried to wrap his arms around me from behind. He giggled cutely, while I attempted to recover from the shock.

"Jesus Christ you startled me!" I gasped.

"Yeah I can see that. What I don't see is _why_. Are you going to jump out of your skin every time I try to hug you?"

"No! I'm just a little skittish right now I guess. Now come here for that hug you tried to give me." I held out my arms and he moved into them right away. We just stood there, embracing each other, for a good minute. We really needed to get ready for school, though, so I kissed him quickly and pulled away.

"Come on pretty, let's get ready." I said, and Gerard groaned at just the mention of that hellhole.

"I don't want to go to school! I just want to stay here with you forever. And maybe go home a few times to see my mom and Mikey. But that's it." He whined.

"What about your friends?"

"Fuck them. They're assholes anyway. I have you now. I don't need anything else." My heart melted at that, and it melted even more when he nuzzled my neck.

I really didn't want to, but I said, "Baaaabeee cooomee ooooon. We need to get ready, we only have twenty minutes until we have to leave, _and_ there's breakfast downstairs."

"But I don't have any clothes," Gerard breathed onto my neck.

"You can borrow some of mine."

"Ugh. Alright, fine." I dragged him over to my closet, motioning for him to open it. He did, but rolled his eyes as soon as he got a glimpse of what was inside. 

"Seems like you're more emo than I thought, Mr. Iero. Your closet looks like it's in mourning."

"Don't judge me, _Mr. Way_."

"Don't worry, I am." Gerard smiled, randomly grabbing a pair of black jeans and an Iron Maiden t-shirt. I did the same, but with a SlipKnot t-shirt instead. My entire wardrobe consisted of black skinny jeans and band tees at that point in time.

"Uh, you can get dressed in here. I'll change in the bathroom." I said.

"Aww. I'm not allowed to see you naked?"

"Well when you put it that way..." I winked. Needless to say, we got dressed in the same room. Gerard has a nice ass by the way.

Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, and toast. Well, just eggs and toast for me, me being a vegetarian and all, but Gerard enjoyed the bacon. He was sat at the breakfast bar, eating it happily, when the time came for us to depart from the safe haven that was my house, and into the purgatory that was high school.

Gerard must have decided that he'd done enough complaining that morning, because he didn't say a word the entire drive. Which might sound like a bad thing, but it wasn't. Our fingers were intertwined in my lap, and we were simply enjoying each other's company. 

I was both excited and terrified for that day. On one hand, Gerard was my boyfriend, and everyone would know it. On the other hand, Gerard was my boyfriend, _and everyone would know it_. To my knowledge, he had no problem with exposing our relationship to the public. I mean, he did kiss me in front of everyone yesterday. And we weren't even dating then. I wasn't worried about what people would think of us, I didn't care really, I was just worried about what would happen when Gerard's "friends" came back from their football conference or whatever it was. 

Though I don't suppose that they were his friends anymore considering he called them assholes this morning. Come to think of it, Gerard seemed to be throwing away his social status for _me_. I felt guilty, like he was giving up his whole life just for me, though I knew that wasn't the case. You see, Gerard used to get bullied a lot for being chubby. I always thought he was adorable though. It never made sense to me that they bullied him. He didn't care about his weight, so why did they? But, of course, because they cared, he started to as well. I wasn't friendly with him then, because we didn't have cars yet so we didn't have a reason to talk, but I assumed he started starving himself and working out intensely, because he lost all of his extra weight within six months. 

Now that he was skinny, those same people that had been bullying him just six months ago, wanted to be his friends. And all he wanted was to be popular, so he let them, leaving his old friends in the dust of who he used to be.

It was sickening, honestly, but I didn't blame him at all. He was a sad little boy who just wanted to be liked. No, I blame those bastards who shaped him into who they wanted him to be using his own self hatred, and then made him into their little slave. I wanted to kill them, especially now that Gerard was my boyfriend. He went through all that just to be popular, which is why I was so immensely confused when he abandoned it just to be with me. I supposed it didn't really matter all that much. We only had two and a half months left of high school. But still, it was odd behavior. I wasn't in the place to question it though, and I didn't want to. I was happy being happy with Gerard by my side.

I was so lost in thought that I hadn't even realized that we had pulled into the school parking lot. However, class didn't start for another ten minutes.

"I just noticed that I've hardly kissed you today." I stated.

"Well you should get on that then." 

"Take off your seatbelt and maybe I will." Mine had long been discarded. I heard the click that signified that Gerard's seatbelt had been discarded as well, and immediately pulled him into my lap. I attached my lips to his, tugging him closer so that he was straddling my hips, successfully deepening the kiss. 

We kissed ardently for at least five minutes before we were interrupted by Brendon excitedly knocking on the window. We broke apart, both of us out of breath and slightly embarrassed. I rolled down the window.

"So you guys made it official, huh?" Brendon winked. I just rolled my eyes. 

"What do you want, Bren?" I was hoping to get this conversation done quickly because Gerard was still in my lap, and class started in five minutes.

"Ryan said he loves me!"

"Oh shit, really?" My eyes widened in astonishment.

"Yeah! He took me out on this really romantic date and then he told me when we got back to his house. He said I didn't have to say it back but of course I did because I totally love him. I feel like I'm floating." Brendon gushed. 

"That's fantastic, Bren! I'm so happy for you two."

"Thanks, Frankie. I'm really happy for you guys, too." I matched my smile with Brendon's, and looked up at Gerard, who was also smiling wildly. We must've looked like idiots, the three of us, but none of us seemed to care. It was a happy moment, though there was some underlying awkwardness between Brendon and Gerard. I guessed it was because they didn't really know each other. Hopefully that was going to change now that Gerard was my boyfriend. I loved saying-well, thinking- that. _Gerard is my boyfriend. Gerard is my boyfriend. Gerard is my boyfriend_. It felt so good for that statement to finally be true. 

The two minute bell rang, causing annoyed sighs to ring out through the parking lot. 

"It was nice talking to you, Frank. I'll see you in art. Uh, you too Gerard." Brendon walked off towards his first period. 

"Ugh, come on, babe." Gerard and I actually had first period together that day. Our school ran on what they called a "block schedule", meaning that we had one set of four classes one day, and another set the next. First through fourth period days were called "A days" and fifth through eighth period days were called "B days". Our first period was computer applications, in which we learned useless information about outdated Microsoft office apps. The only upside to an otherwise boring as fuck class, was that the teacher, if you could even call her that, she didn't teach us anything, just made us do this stupid program, was fairly laid back. There was hardly a seating chart, and you could listen to music all class and she didn't give a shit. 

Gerard climbed out of my lap, opened the door, and motioned for me to follow him to class. 

I sat in my usual seat, and Gerard sat in his. From the outside, it probably looked like there was nothing between us. Unless you noticed our sidelong glances at each other, that is. Eventually, I got tired of the little game of tag our eyes were playing, so I texted Gerard, telling him to get his ass over here because I missed him. I watched him try to check his phone covertly, failing miserably, and roll his eyes as he read the message. He complied with my wishes, though, and scooted his chair to the empty computer next to mine.

"I missed you, too," he breathed into my ear. 

"Are you okay with people knowing about us?" I whispered back.

"Yes, definitely! I want to show you off," I sighed in relief internally because _I_ wanted to show _him_ off.

"There's not much to show off, though, Gee." 

"You're joking, right? You're my gorgeous little punk boyfriend and I want to show you off." This conversation reminded me of one we had yesterday. Apparently we both had self worth issues. Hopefully we could help each other with that. 

"No, I want to show _you_ off!" I retaliated. We continued on with our fake argument for about a minute before getting bored, and mutually deciding that we needed to get back to work, except with our fingers intertwined this time. It was difficult to type with only my left hand, but it was worth it to have Gerard's soft hand in mine. 

I was genuinely upset when first period ended. I didn't want to be away from Gerard, even if it was only for an hour. But it would be the first time I was away from him since he became my boyfriend. I couldn't believe that I had grown so attached to him already. 

After a long, torturous, kiss-filled goodbye, I was on my way to biology. At least I sat at a table with Pete and Ryan in that class. They sufficiently distracted me from the full ache that came with missing Gerard with gossip about Brendon and Ryan's date the previous night. Ryan gave us every last detail, even the ones that I _really_ didn't want to hear. 

Art simply couldn't come fast enough. I was mediocre at best, so I didn't usually look forward to it, but it was another class that I had with Gerard, so I was buzzing with excitement. 

He usually sat with the other popular people, but when I walked into the classroom, he was sitting in the seat right next to mine. I supposed that his popular friends didn't want to be his friends anymore now that he was dating a loser. Not only a loser, but a guy at that. I felt so guilty even though it wasn't my fault that his "friends" were arrogant assholes that dropped their friend the moment he wasn't "cool" anymore. I hoped that he got along with my friends because it was looking like he didn't have any of his own anymore. Well, his footballer friends were still away, but they'd drop him the second they got back. I was afraid that they'd do more than just drop him, though, because not only were they arrogant assholes, they were also homophobic. Just the thought of them doing anything to hurt Gerard made me sick to my stomach. 

"Hey Frankie!" Gerard called when he spotted me, pulling me down for a kiss before I sat down. 

"Hey Gee. I missed you." 

"We were only apart for an hour!" 

"Still too long to be away from you." Gerard just smiled and rolled his eyes. That seemed to be his immediate reaction to basically everything. But I wasn't one to judge. It was mine, too 

We were painting that day, so, naturally, we spent more time getting paint on each other than on the canvas. I think I even got some on Brendon at one point. By the time we got to the cafeteria, we looked like rainbows personified. I led Gerard to our lunch table, tightly holding his hand as we approached my friends. I decided that, even though they technically knew who he was, I was going to introduce Gerard to them. It was like he was meeting my parents, only slightly less important. 

"So guys," I began, standing at the head of the table, Gerard clinging awkwardly to my side, "this is Gerard Way, my boyfriend." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I got a lot of writing done because it snowed a lot where I live so I only had like four hours of school this week. Hopefully I can update this quickly again. I've actually started writing the next chapter already. 
> 
> Goodbye for now!


	4. New York Eyes, Chicago Thighs

Brendon was the only one who hadn't looked like he had just been told that his dead grandma came back to life or some shit, considering he already knew. I swear to god Pete almost pissed his pants with excitement. I love that fucker, but sometimes he acts like an overexcited puppy. It's endearing, though.

"Are you shitting me right now? I mean, that's great for you guys, but now I'm the only lonely one! You guys aren't going to ditch me all the time to make out with your boyfriends, are you?" 

"Not _all_ the time." I joked.

"Wait, Bren, why don't you look shocked? Did you _know?_ " Ryan turned to his boyfriend, mock betrayal displayed on his face 

"Maybe..." Brendon said. Ryan smacked his arm playfully.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Brendon shrugged.

"Are you telling me that you sat next to me all first period knowing and _not_ telling me?" Man, I thought I loved you, but with a betrayal this big I don't know anymore." He sounded so serious that Brendon honestly looked upset.

Seeing the distress on his boyfriend's face, Ryan quickly clarified that he was kidding. They then embraced sweetly, exchanging numerous I love you's.

"You could puke just looking at them, huh, Gerard?" Pete said in an attempt to make Gerard feel more welcome. He had still been clinging to me, not commenting on anything that was happening.

Gerard just hummed in response. I guessed he was just shy and would open up once he got more acquainted with my friends. I tried to help him out by whispering encouraging things in his ear and rubbing his back once we sat down, Pete to my left and Brendon and Ryan across from us. 

I started chatting with them in hopes that Gerard would interject or express his opinion on the subject at hand. I even mentioned his favorite bands in a desperate attempt to get him to come out of his shell but to no avail. In fact, I was afraid that I had made it worse, because Gerard suddenly ripped out of my comforting grip on his waist, and fled outside. 

"Is he okay?" Pete asked. 

"I don't think so. I'm gonna go after him, I'll see you guys later. Sorry." They all told me that it was fine, and to call them that night. I promised them I would, and ran off after Gerard.

I found him in his car, crying, and curled up in the driver's seat. Wrenching the car door open and climbing in below the steering wheel. The fleeting thought that this is where and how I would be sitting if I was giving Gerard a blow job instead of comforting him briefly crossed my mind, causing me to roll my eyes at my own immaturity before turning all of my attention to soothing Gerard.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I said, rubbing circles on his back. He looked down at me, his eyes red and puffy with tears. 

"I-I'm so sorry, Frankie,"

"For what, baby? You were perfectly fine. I'm sure they love you already,"

"Why would they? I'm such an asshole to everyone. It's like I can't talk to anyone without being hurtful. I'm such a jackass!" Gerard spat, every word dripping with venom, though it was directed towards himself, and not me. 

"No, you're not, honey. That's not who you are,"

"Then who am I, Frank!?" He nearly shouted. It was so heartbreaking that he felt that way about himself, and it made me livid that those bastards that he dared to call his friends were the reason why.

"You're my adorable, kind, compassionate, thoughtful, imaginative, charming, intelligent, beautiful dork boyfriend. What else would you be?" I said, lovingly stroking his hair. Gerard let out a choked sob, tears starting to fall down his cheeks once again.

"Oh, baby don't cry," 

"I'm sorry, it's just-" he cut himself off by pressing his lips to mine urgently. I responded happily, just delighted that he was doing something other than crying. We didn't pull away until our lungs were screaming for oxygen.

"It's just what?" I asked, panting.

"Huh?"

"Before you kissed me, you said, 'it's just-', and I was wondering what you were going to say after that,"

"Oh! Um... it's nothing, it's stupid. Forget about it." 

"That's what you said before you asked me out, and that wasn't stupid. Plus, nothing you say could be stupid 'cause you're the smartest person I know." He smiled at that, pulling me up onto the seat with him. I was practically in his lap, but I didn't mind. It was pretty nice, actually.

I was just about to pull him in for a kiss, but the bell rang, and I had to stop halfway there.

"We should go to class," Gerard whispered.

"How 'bout we don't?"

"You make a good point," I climbed into the backseat, but not before claiming Gerard's mouth once again.

"You should come back here,"

"Should I? I'm not so sure."

"Just get back here dumbass."

"I thought I was the smartest person you knew."

"Oh shut up and get your cute little ass over here," he complied immediately, of course. I guess he just couldn't stay away from me. Especially because I called him cute.

"Well, Frankie, what do you want to do with all of our suddenly acquired free time?" Gerard said from my lap.

"Mmm, I don't know, how 'bout this?" I leaned in for yet another kiss. 

"Sounds good to me, sugar." 

"Sugar?" 

"Just trying it out, " he mumbled, hiding his face in my shoulder.

"You should keep calling me that, "

"Is that right? You like it when I call you sugar?" He said suggestively.

"Oh stop it! It's not like that, asshole. It just sounds nice, " I chided, "besides, if it _were_ like that, there are much better things you could call me, " Gerard brought his face up from my shoulder to look me in the eyes.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out, " *** I think that was the happiest moment of my life at that point. I was more content than I'd ever been, sitting there with Gerard in my arms, lazily kissing whenever we felt like it. So, of course, it had to be then that the final bell decided to ring out across the courtyard. I didn't make any effort to move, and neither did he until we were interrupted, yet again, by Brendon knocking on the window. The only difference was that Pete and Ryan came along this time. I rolled the window down and waited for one of them to speak.

"Deja vu huh guys?" 

"Seems like it. What's up, Bren?" I guessed that Gerard was ashamed of his behavior earlier because he was hiding his face in my neck.

"We just came by to see if Gerard was okay, " Gerard looked up at the mention of his name.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about earlier." 

"It's okay, man. You were just nervous, " Pete said, stepping forward slightly. Gerard smiled, his whole face lighting up. I was glad for Pete's uncanny ability to make people feel better.

"Thanks, guys. I still feel bad though. Let me make it up to you?" He inquired pleadingly. 

"You better not be talking about giving them blow jobs, cause that's not cool." I teased.

"Shut up, Frankie!" He said lightheartedly.

"If you like telling me to shut up so much, maybe you should make me, " I whispered seductively, momentarily forgetting that my friends were there. Gerard must've forgotten that they were there, too, because he kissed me hungrily, effectively shutting me up.

Ryan cleared his throat loudly, "uh, guys?" We broke apart abruptly, blushing in embarassment.

"Sorry." I muttered.

"Anyway," Gerard announced, "you guys wanna come over to my house, like, now? There'll be pizza," he singsonged the last sentence in an attempt to make it more enticing. Pete was a whore for pizza, so he obviously agreed, and after that Brendon and Ryan nodded in agreement as well. 

"You guys can take my car and just follow us." I tossed Ryan my keys because, while it was pretty shitty, I didn't trust Pete or Brendon to drive. 

***

We pulled up to Gerard's house, a nice two story, just as the song that was playing on the radio ended. Talk about perfect timing. I was a little disappointed that my first time at Gerard's house would have to be attended by my friends. It didn't matter, though. I was sure that it was going to be a fantastic night nonetheless. 

Ryan pulled up behind us before long. We were already on the front porch, waiting for them, so we were all inside in less than a minute. 

"Mikey! Get your fat ass down here and meet my friends!" Gerard shouted up the stairs.

"I've already met your friends. They're assholes!" Someone who I assumed was Mikey yelled back.

"I know they are that's why I got new ones. Come meet them!" I heard footsteps bounding down the stairs in a hurried fashion. A dorky looking boy with messed up hair and glasses appeared in the stairwell. While they didn't look all that much alike, I could tell that Gerard and Mikey were brothers. I think it was in their facial expressions. 

"Mikey, this is Pete, Ryan, Brendon, and Frank," Gerard pointed to each person as he said their name.

"These are your friends?"

"Yep. Well, Frankie here is my boyfriend." He explained and threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. I smiled and nodded my head in confirmation. I was happy that he wasn't afraid to show me to his family.

"Your boyfriend? Wow, you haven't had a boyfriend since-" Mikey was cut off by Gerard saying, "since Bert. Yeah I know." 

"Wait wait wait, you dated _Bert_?" Pete inquired, breaking the awkward silence that had encompassed the past few seconds.

"Um, yeah." 

"Okay then. So, about that pizza..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long and that it's kinda short. My cat died and I had a lot of school work and like no motivation. Here's a list of things I did to avoid writing this chapter:  
> I baked cookies  
> I wrote an essay  
> I wrote a oneshot  
> And I drew Party Poison  
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> Bye for hopefully not too long!


	5. I'll Never Let Them Hurt You, I Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. My only excuse is that I was grounded for a bit and I just really didn't have any motivation for writing. But it's here now and I think it's pretty good so... :)
> 
> also it's bullets mikey btw

"Not fair! You totally cheated!"

"You're just salty that you suck at Mario Kart,"

"One, I do _not_ suck at Mario Kart, and two, I'm not salty, you're just a filthy cheater!" Pete and Brendon were bickering because Pete was mad that he did, in fact, suck ass at Mario Kart. We had been in Gerard's room, which, funnily enough considering mine was in the attic, was in the basement, playing Mario Kart, for about four hours at that point. Much to my surprise, Mikey had been hanging out with us the entire time. I would have assumed that he would have wanted to hide in his room the whole time we were here, but apparently that had not been the case. I quite liked Mikey. He was into the same stuff as we were, and was actually pretty cool for a fifteen year old.

Gerard only had two Wii remotes, which was sad because it meant that we couldn't all play together, but we were making do with taking turns. An upside to having to take turns was that, when it wasn't either of our time to play, Gerard and I spent that time cuddling and kissing from our place on the edge of his bed. Brendon and Ryan were sitting side by side on the floor at the foot of the bed, as the tv was on the wall opposite, but Pete had actually managed to find two beanbag chairs for him and Mikey.

"Hey, Gerard, it's your turn." Pete said, reluctantly handing over the Wii remote.

"Thanks, Pete." Gerard said. I whined as he pulled away from me so that he could focus. He rolled his eyes at my clinginess, but still gestured for me to wrap my arms around him once again, just in a less constricting position. I had just rested my head in the crook of Gerard's neck when Pete stood up abruptly, announcing that he was going upstairs to search for more snacks. Mikey silently stalked after him, leaving me, Gerard, Brendon, and Ryan alone.

"So, Ryan," I inquired.

"Yeah?" Ryan looked up at me.

"Truth or dare?" I smirked.

Ryan sighed before answering, "Truth." I thought for a minute, debating which question would be the best to ask. I didn't have to worry about Gerard or Brendon overhearing our conversation, even though they were so close, because they were so focused on their game of Mario Kart that they might as well have been dead to the world.

"Have you ever skinny dipped?" Ryan flushed a brilliant shade of red before regretfully admitting that yes, he had.

"Me and Bren went during spring break last year..." He explained, though it didn't make it any less funny. In fact, it made it even more hilarious, because Brendon and Ryan weren't even dating back then.

"Babe stop laughing I'm trying to concentrate on beating Brendon's ass at Mario Kart." I could see how my laughing was hindering Gerard's abilities, so I clamped my mouth shut.

"Sorry, baby." I whispered in his ear, kissing his neck lightly. Ryan cleared his throat loudly, bringing my attention back to our ongoing game of truth or dare.

"Truth or dare?" I wanted to say dare, but doing a dare would require moving, and I happened to be pretty comfy.

"Truth."

"When was the last time you saw someone else naked?" This time it was me who started blushing a vivid shade of red.

"Um...today." I coughed.

"Today? Wait is that was you guys were doing while you skipped class?"

"Maybe..."

"That means that you guys haven't even showered since! Oh my god, I used you as a pillow earlier. Gross!"

We continued playing truth or dare for a good twenty minutes, until Gerard and Brendon finished their Mario Kart tournament. I was almost sad that Gerard was back to the land of the living, because he looked super adorable with his face screwed up in concentration. His tongue stuck out of his mouth a little and his eyebrows were furrowed. It made me want to plant little kisses all over his face.

"Hey, Gee?"

"Yeah, Frankie?"

"Do you think we should go check on Pete and Mikey? They went upstairs for snacks like half an hour ago, and they still aren't back,"

"Yeah we probably should. Come on." He stood up, nearly making me fall on top of Ryan because of how much I was hanging onto him, and held his hand out for me to take. I did, of course. He led me up the stairs and into the kitchen, but it was empty.

"Interesting...I wonder where they are," I thought aloud.

"Maybe they went into Mikey's room for some weird reason?"

"Couldn't hurt to check," Gerard brought me through the hallway and up the stairs to a door clearly labeled, "Mikey's room, stay out!" I chuckled a bit at the childish label. Music could be heard from through the wall, but not loud enough to wake their parents, who were fast asleep across the hall. I hadn't actually seen either of them. I supposed they heard the noise downstairs and just left us alone. I hoped I would see them in the morning.

I hesitantly knocked on Mikey's door, but didn't receive any response. I presumed that it was because of they music that they didn't hear the knock. Technically, because of the music, we knew they were in there, so we could have just left them alone, but me and Gerard were nosy fucks, so we shared a look, and then burst in.

What I had expected to see, Pete and Mikey playing video games, eating snacks, and/or talking, was not _at all_ what I saw. In fact, what I saw was the exact opposite of what I was expecting to see.

Pete and Mikey were sitting on Mikey's bed, that in itself was normal, what was not _normal,_ however, was what they were doing. I'm sure you can guess what it was they were doing by this point, but I'm just gonna say it. They were _making out_! Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III, one of my best friends, and Michael James Way, my boyfriend's brother, were _making out_! Needless to say, I was shocked, and, with a glance to my left, I could tell Gerard was, too. We were frozen halfway through the door frame, but they still noticed our sudden appearance and broke apart quickly.

"My eyes!" Gerard yelled, running out of the room and all the way down the stairs. I shared the same sentiment, and though I was really curious as to how the fuck _that_ happened, I hastily joined Gerard in the living room, leaving Pete and Mikey to their "activities." 

I was vaguely aware that we were being like the biggest hypocrites ever, as we were just doing basically the same thing downstairs, but it was _different_. Okay, it really wasn't, but it was still gross. 

"So gross!" Gerard exclaimed. 

"So gross," I echoed, wholeheartedly agreeing, "come on, babe, let's go back downstairs and try to calm down." He simply nodded, grabbing onto my extended arm and following me down the stairs. 

The torture, however, was not over. I flipped the light switch, uncovering the veil of darkness the covered the room, and revealing Brendon and Ryan up to the same "activities" as Pete and Mikey were. I was slightly more used to this, therefore not that disturbed, but Gerard, however, was something of a seeing-Brendon-and-Ryan-make-out virgin. 

"That's it! Upstairs! Both of you!" He shrieked, clearly at the end of his rope. If you really thought about it, the entire situation was almost comical. 

They retreated upstairs, their heads hung in shame and embarrassment. Hopefully they would find the pullout couch, and not end up sleeping in a random place on the floor. 

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" I asked carefully. 

"Yeah... I think I'm just really stressed out about things right now, and then the shock of Pete making out with my brother... I totally overreacted, didn't I?" 

"Just a little bit," 

"Fuck! I should go apologize." 

"In the morning. Don't worry about it. For now," I pulled him into my arms, "just tell me what's wrong." He delicately rested his head on my shoulder and breathed out a sigh. It killed me to see him like this, all wound up and defeated. 

"I'm just scared. Scared that my friends will beat my ass the moment that they're back on Jersey soil. I guess they're not my friends anymore, huh? They despise everything that I stand for. I don't know why I ever cared what they thought. I was so stupid, so ignorant. I just wanted someone to like me! God dammit, is that too much to ask?" He paused to let out a rage and tear filled breath before continuing, "I know the consequences for doing what I did, and I thought I could handle it, but fear has been eating away at me and I can't escape it. I feel like I'm falling apart. But you're worth it. Fuck, Frank, you're so worth it. I don't know what I'd do without you. I feel so safe here in your arms, like nothing can hurt me, even though I know full well that those bastards I dared call my friends can and will. I'm just so scared, Frankie..." He clutched onto me so hard that it was difficult to breathe. I didn't mind at all, though, because I knew that he needed me. 

"My poor baby," I whispered, stroking his hair, "I'll never let them hurt you, I promise." He didn't say anything else, instead just sighed into my neck, tears still streaming down his face. 

I was scared, too. The thought of anyone laying a hand on the perfect boy in my arms brought tears to my eyes. He was so inherently _good_. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt him. All I knew was that if anyone did, there'd be hell to pay. 

***

When I woke up the next morning, Gerard was nowhere to be seen. This was strange because I thought I would have been woken up if he had disentangled himself from me. I guess not. 

"Gee?" I called softly into the darkness. There was no response, so I assumed that he was upstairs. I stumbled out of Gerard's bed, feeling my way towards the stairs. I climbed them carefully, not wanting to trip and break my face on the hardwood. 

Brendon and Ryan were cuddled up on the couch, both of them snoring softly. I hated to admit it, but they looked adorable. Looking at them like that made me suddenly crave Gerard like he was heroin and I was an addict. I swept the room with my eyes, not seeing him anywhere, so I made my way into the kitchen. 

My journey into the kitchen revealed a shirtless Gerard, his legs clad in Batman pajama pants. He had earbuds in, what seemed to be the Misfits blaring through them, and was stood by the stove, making pancakes. He must've still felt bad for last night, but he really shouldn't have been so hard on himself. I tiptoed up to him, wrapping my arms around his bare waist, savoring the feeling of his skin. He didn't jump out of his skin like I would have, just turned his head to look at me and took out his earbuds. 

"Hey, sugar." 

"Hey, Gee." I rested my head in the crook of his neck while he continued making pancakes, humming softly. We stayed like that until all of the pancakes were done and had been stacked neatly. 

"Uh, babe?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You might want to put a shirt on before the guys get up," 

"That might be a good idea. I'll be back." He kissed me quickly, heading towards the stairs. I wondered if Gerard's parents would wake up soon. I was really excited to meet them because anyone who raised someone that perfect must be pretty great. I genuinely wanted them to like me. If they didn't, I wouldn't have been able to spend as much time at their house as I planned to. 

As breakfast was ready, I decided that it would probably be a good idea to wake up the guys. Well, Brendon and Ryan anyway. I didn't know Mikey that well, so I didn't want to just burst into his room again, especially because it was possible that him and Pete were up to the same "activities" as they were last night. I made my way back into the living room and next to the pullout couch. They were still sound asleep, adorable as ever. In fact, they looked pretty cozy. I don't know if you can tell where this is going, but I totally climbed in between them, snuggling into Ryan's shoulder. They both woke up immediately, of course, but this wasn't an unusual occurrence, so all they did was readjust themselves to be more comfortable. This entailed Brendon throwing his arm over me and Ryan, and Ryan wiggling a bit. 

I was so warm and comfortable that I almost fell back asleep, until Gerard came back up the stairs, wearing a shirt now, and cleared his throat. I looked up at him expectantly. 

"Frank, what the fuck are you doing?" The way he said it was more amused than angry, so I simply raised my middle finger in his direction and stuck out my tongue. 

"Okay then." Gerard chuckled. I heard his footsteps fade away into the general direction of the kitchen. A few minutes later I heard a pair of footsteps descend the stairs. I assumed that they belonged to Pete and Mikey, and was proven correct when I heard Pete yell, "Why didn't you tell me it was cuddle time?!" and climb in between me and Brendon. The other footsteps, the ones belonging to Mikey, had the same fate as his brother's. I could just imagine the Way brothers in the kitchen, sipping coffee, avidly discussing how fucking weird we were. The thought brought a smile to my face. 

"You guys do know that there's food over here, right?" Mikey called. 

"Food?" Pete perked up immediately, shaking off Brendon's arm and bolting to the kitchen. I got up reluctantly, grabbing one of Ryan's hands and one of Brendon's hands. 

"Bren, Ry, come on!" I hauled them to their feet.

"Ugh, fine. But only because there's food involved." Ryan groaned. Brendon simply sighed, grabbed Ryan's hand, and stormed off to the kitchen. I followed suit, intending to get Brendon his coffee as soon as possible. 

"Baby, I need a kiss like, asap." I stated. 

"Come over here then," I obliged, obviously, carrying out the previously mentioned action. After that was taken care of, I found a plate, filled it with pancakes, and followed in the footsteps of Pete, who had been shoveling pancakes in his mouth for the last five minutes. Before long, it was essentially silent, the only sound being forks scraping against plates. 

Once I was done eating, I cleared my throat excessively loudly in a weak attempt to get everyone's attention. Lucky for me, it worked. 

"So...uh...I believe Gerard had something he wanted to say?" Hint hint. Nudge nudge. 

"Oh! Um...right. Well I guess I just wanted to apologize for my, uh, behavior last night. It was rude of me to react the way I did. It's just I've got some stuff going on so I'm a little on edge. Not that that excuses my behavior, but I hope that they pancakes make up for it." He ended his little "speech" with a shaky breath. I grabbed his hand across the table, hoping to calm his nerves. 

"Don't worry about it, man! These pancakes are probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. You know, maybe I chose the wrong Way brother..." Pete mused, pure amusement displayed across his face. 

"Fuck off Pete. He's mine." I joked, getting up and attaching myself to Gerard possessively. 

"Wait, what?!" Brendon and Ryan said nearly in unison. I'd forgotten that they hadn't bore witness to the horrors that Gerard and I had. 

"That's right, you guys didn't see them last night! When we went looking for them, we found them in Mikey's room, um, engaged in some risque activities," 

"Oh my god, shut up it was not _risque_ , as you so elegantly put it, we were just making out, okay!" Mikey snapped, a massive blush spreading across his face. The room fell silent. 

The temporary silence was broken by Gerard inquiring, "So are you guys like a thing now?" Mikey was still too embarrassed to function (he had already buried his face in Pete's shoulder at this point), so Pete just nodded vigorously. 

Ryan was beaming, his eyes lit up and his nose scrunched in happiness. Brendon seemed a little more skeptical, probably just out of his protectiveness over all of us, Pete especially. He was like the mom of the group. I suspected that he was wary of mine and Gerard's relationship as well. 

"You guys are so cute!" Ryan exclaimed, covering his mouth immediately after, "sorry." After that, it seemed that we had run out of things to say. I looked over Gerard's head to the clock, which read 9:12. I wondered why Mr. and Mrs. Way weren't awake yet. I didn't really know them, so it was possible that they were just sleeping in type people. I decided to ask my darling boyfriend about it, as they were his parents after all. 

"Hey, Gee?" 

"Yes, my love?" I think my brain stopped working for a few seconds. _Did he really just call me his love?_ I'm surprised that I didn't melt into a puddle right then. Jesus Christ. 

"Frankie? Hello?" 

"Oh, right, hi, sorry," I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. 

"You were saying?" 

"Oh! When do you think that your parents will be awake?" 

"They like to sleep in on Saturdays." Mikey chimed in grumpily. I think he was mad at us for embarrassing him. Poor little baby (note my sarcasm). 

"I can go get them if you want?" 

"Please?" I looked at him with puppy dog eyes that I new he couldn't resist. He vanished up the stairs within seconds. 

"You nervous?" Ryan asked softly, his voice edged with concern. 

"You could say that," I said shakily, "do I look alright?" 

"You look fine, don't worry. They're going to love you, I'm sure of it." 

"How do you know?" 

"Because you're awesome, and we love you, so how can they not?" 

"Thanks, Ry." 

"No problem, man." I just sat there anxiously until I came to a realization. 

"Hey, Pete? Shouldn't you be nervous, too? You know since we seem to be in kind of the same situation here, with Mikey being your boyfriend and everything?" 

"You're right," He said, followed by, "fuck!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I literally spent three months writing this chapter so I hope you like it. I don't really know what else to say... Bye for now I guess. Hopefully it won't be three months this time lol.


	6. The Motions I've Been Going Through Have Failed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is mostly filler sorry lol

My mind bounced from one thought to another and back again like it was playing ping pong. Each thought brought new insecurities and reasons to freak out. Let me tell you, it was hella annoying. I knew that they were going to like me. Why wouldn't they like me? I'm great. But what if they thought my hair was stupid, or that I was just a punk who was nowhere near good enough for their perfect son? Luckily, footsteps could be heard descending the stairs before neither me or Pete had the chance to start hyperventilating.

Gerard gave me a reassuring glance before beginning, "Mom, dad, I have some people I'd like you to meet,"

"I can see that. It's nice to meet you boys. I'm Mrs. Way, but you can call me Donna. Oh, and my husband here is Donald, but you might want to stick to Mr. Way with him." Gerard's mother said with a light tone, whispering the last bit with a wink. His father didn't say anything, just waited for us to be introduced.

"There next to Mikey is Pete, then Brendon, Ryan," Gerard pointed to each of them as he said their names, similar to how he introduced us to Mikey, "and there in the back's Frank," he said, the pitch of his voice getting higher, but the volume going in the opposite direction.

"And is there something you'd like to tell us about Frank, Gerard?" Donna inquired, her tone almost sickeningly sweet.

"Frank's his boyfriend!"

"Mikey! You know, I didn't want to have to do this but, MIKEY'S GOT A BOYFRIEND, TOO!"

"And who is this mystery boyfriend of your brother's?"

"It's me!" Pete blurted, blushing immensely.

"And Ryan's my boyfriend!" Brendon exclaimed. We all looked at him, confused. Except for Ryan, who just smacked his arm.

"Everyone else was yelling stuff..."

"Anyway... So to clarify: you, Frank," Donna pointed to me, "are dating my eldest son, and you, Pete," she moved her arm to the left to point to a very embarrassed Pete, "are dating my youngest son?" All of the people in question nodded. There was a pause in conversation as Donna seemed to process the information.

"Well then... Welcome to the family, boys!" She flung open her arms, motioning for us to step into them. I awkwardly stood up and shuffled over to her, allowing her to pull me in with one arm and Pete with the other. It was weird at first, but eventually just felt nice and comforting. By the time she let us go, I wasn't nervous anymore, and a giant smile had plastered itself onto my face. I felt another pair of arms envelop me from behind. They obviously belonged to Gerard, who then rested his head on my shoulder.

Mr. Way engaged in quiet conversation with Pete, their words so hushed that I could only catch a few of them. The conversation ended as quickly as it started, a firm handshake signifying its completion.

"Franklin." Mr. Way inquired with a tight lip and a firm tone, his face as serious as they come, and suddenly my nerves were back. Hooray.

"Uh, it's just Frank, actually, like, legally." I stammered, shaking off Gerard's arms and making my way over to the man that, if we're being honest, scared the living shit out of me. And he wasn't even a teenager.

"What are your intentions with my eldest son?"

"Um...cuddles?" Mr. Way menacingly raised an eyebrow at me, "In all honesty Mr. Way, I really like your son, he makes me very happy, happier than I ever thought I could be, and all I want to do is make him as happy as he makes me. I swear. I will protect him with my life." He seemed very pleased with my answer, his protective father face dropping away into what I really want to describe as a Santa-like facial expression, a small smile taking the place of the stern frown.

He held out his hand, "Then welcome to the family, son." No matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn't reach out and take his hand. Son... Nobody had called me that for eleven years. I was overcome with such intense sadness and grief that I couldn't do _anything_. Except run away to the nearest bathroom, that is. I heard Gerard run after me, but I didn't care. I made sure to lock the door behind me.

"Frankie? Can I come in?"

"Leave me alone, Gerard." I choked out between sobs. I curled up across from the toliet just in case I needed to puke. No need to leave a big mess for Donna to clean up. He tried to open the door but, seeing as it was locked, didn't succeed. The floorboards creaked as he walked away.

My tears were warm as they fell down my face, eventually dripping onto my jeans, and I could've sworn I was shaking. Pangs of fear and guilt hit me like a freight train, increasing my heart rate and making me nauseous. Flashbacks frenetically fought their way past any mental blocks that were in their way and into the forefront of my mind, making the whole situation infinitely more painful. I could almost see it, the blood, the death, the look in my father's eyes as his life faded away. I could almost feel it, the pain, the fear, the guilt, the utter despair.

I jumped when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around me, "It's alright, Frankie, it's just me," Gerard soothed, pulling me against his chest. I didn't even hear him come in. Despite his attempts to console me, my body was still wracked with sobs.

"Hey, love, what's wrong?" He said in the softest voice I had ever heard. I think the authentic softness of his voice matched with the fact that he called me love again is what finally snapped me out of my stupor.

"M-my dad, he, um," I managed to choke out before I dissolved into tears once again.

"It's okay, honey, take your time." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. I cried, and I cried, and I kept crying until my body was so dehydrated that it literally couldn't produce another tear. The only thing that stopped me from completely falling apart was Gerard's unwavering grip on me, and the soft kisses he pressed onto my head.

"Are you ready to talk about it now, sugar?" I simply nodded, trying to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to make myself relive. I honestly hadn't wanted to go through all of that right then, but I thought that Gerard deserved to know.

"My dad...he always used to call me son before he, you know...died." It was then that I realized that I was foolish in ever thinking that I was ready to open up about the most traumatic event in my life to a person I had only _really_ known for a couple of days. No matter how much I already trusted him. It was just too much. I mean, it took me _years_ to open up to my friends about it. I felt like I was letting him down somehow, even though I knew that wasn't the case, and the he would be understanding because, I swear, kindness ran through his veins instead of blood.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't talk about this right now. Please don't me mad at me." When I looked up at him, his eyes shone in what looked like...love? But there was no time to overthink that right then, so I just shoved it out of my mind, along with any remaining thoughts of my father, and listened to what he said to say.

"I couldn't be mad at you for something like that, Frankie. It's okay, I completely understand, you can tell me in time." He said, like I fucking knew he would. Stupid beautiful, considerate motherfucker.

"Thanks, Gee," I buried my head in his chest once more, "can we stay here a little while longer?"

"On the bathroom floor? Sure, if that'll make you happy." His voice changed from soft and concerned to something lighter and suffused with laughter.

"A little while longer" turned out to be about ten minutes. Before we left the safety of the bathroom floor, I splashed some water on my face to reduce the puffiness of my reddened eyes. We made our way back downstairs, Gerard's arm wrapped protectively around my waist.

Having everyone's eyes on me the moment I became visible was uncomfortable to say the least. Their gazes were full of pity that I really didn't need. It wasn't their fault though. They just wanted me to be okay. Which I was, I think. I hoped so, anyway. And what more can you do than hope?

"Er, Frank, your wonderful friends here informed us on your unfortunate circumstances. We're very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Mrs. Way. I appreciate it."

"Call me Donna, dear."

"Right. Donna." Nobody seemed to know what to say after that. I supposed it was kind of an awkward situation, but I was honestly getting tired of awkward silences.

"Um, this was nice and all, but I think that we're gonna go. Thanks for having us, Gerard. See you Monday?" Brendon broke the silence as he always did. I swear he had an even bigger aversion to silence than I did.

"Yeah, definitely! See you around, guys." Gerard said from beside me, waving goodbye with his free hand as Brendon and Ryan walked out the door without another word.

"We're going upstairs, come on, Pete." Mikey blurted, grabbing Pete's hand and yanking him up the stairs. That just left Gerard and I.

"Mom, I'm taking Frank to the mall to cheer him up."

"That's fine, sweetie, just be home by dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, mom." He dragged me out of the door and into his car so fast I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash.

"The mall?" I asked.

"The mall," Gerard said, looking over at me, "I just want you to be happy, and the mall has basically everything that can make a person happy so I figured why not." A smile spread across his face that I'm sure was mirrored on mine. It was really sweet that he was so devoted to cheering me up.

"Well that's just not true,"

"But it's got food, clothes, guitars, an arcade, a pet store, what could it possibly be missing?" He scrunched up his nose in confusion like he truly couldn't think of anything else that could please someone. I have to say it was adorable, though.

"Well for starters, it doesn't have you,"

"It will once you stop babbling and let me drive!"

"Okay, _fine_!" I sighed overdramatically, "But in all seriousness, you do make me happier than anything else ever has."

"Frankie, you've got to stop saying things like that or I'm going to start crying and then it'll be your fault that my eyeliner's messed up." Despite his joke condemning of my words, I knew that he appreciated them because he took one hand off of the steering wheel and intertwined it with one of mine, rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand in a soothing manner.

The rest of the ride was silent, but still filled with meaningful sidelong glances at each other, like there was something that we both wanted to say, but were too scared to.

Once we had parked, we made our way inside, still holding hands. People shot us weird looks as expected, but honestly neither of us gave a shit. In my opinion, people can take their homophobic bullshit and shove it up their ass. At least then pained looks they had on their faces would be justified.

"So where first, my dear boyfriend?"

"Do you even need to ask? Just look at me."

"Hot Topic?"

"Duh!" We both chuckled and started for Hot Topic. Well, not before stopping at the Starbucks because Gerard was dependent on caffeine for his very survival.

The second we stepped foot inside the dimly light safe haven that was Hot Topic, I immediately felt more relaxed. I had been on edge ever since we left that bathroom floor, so much so that had I almost wished that we had stayed there longer, but that might've gotten awkward. I craned my neck to look at the endless rows of t-shirts and Funko Pops that adorned every wall.

"I feel better already. Thanks for taking me here, Gee."

"Anytime, Frankie."

***

The rest of our trip to the mall consisted of me not wanting Gerard to spend any money on me, and him insisting that there was nothing he'd rather spend it on. Except for art supplies, but that was okay because he spent some money on those, too. We ended up traveling across the entire mall. Multiple times, I might add, because every time we tried to head for the exit, one of us spotted a store that we swore wasn't there before. All we really bought, however, was the aforementioned art supplies, a few band t-shirts, a pair of fingerless skeleton gloves for me, and, despite my countless comments that it was just too much, an Epiphone Les Paul adorned with flashy stickers spelling out the word "Pansy". The minute I laid eyes on it, I was utterly smitten. I couldn't help it. The guitar was _gorgeous_ , way better than the one I already had. I honestly had no idea how I let Gerard talk me into letting him buy me a _guitar_. A few shirts and a pair of gloves was one thing, a guitar was a totally different, way too expensive thing. Why I didn't give in to my urge to shove money in his face to pay him back is beyond me.

"Baby, are you sure that you didn't spend too much money on me today?" We were parked outside of my house, unfortunately to drop me off and not go in together due to a stern call from my mother about me being away too long, and Gerard's prior promise to return home for dinner.

"It's _fine_ , sugar. Stop worrying about it. I have plenty of it, honestly. Didn't you see my house? And the car that we're literally sitting in right now? Well, I guess the car was my grandmother's so it doesn't really count, but whatever, you get the point."

"Okay, okay. I just feel bad. How about _I_ spend all the money _you_ next time? And don't say anything about how I don't have as much money as you because I have plenty. I've been getting eight hundred bucks a month from my grandpa ever since my dad died. That's like over nine thousand bucks a year, times eleven. That's like, almost a hundred thousand bucks. So don't say anything about me being poor, because I'm not." I don't know why I get so intense on the subject of money. Maybe it's because everyone always teased me for "looking poor" when I was a kid. Whatever. Fuck them.

"I wasn't going to! I know that little Frankie can take care of himself." He spoke like he was talking to a baby, or a dog, which normally would have pissed me off, but since it was him, it just amused me.

"Ugh, I have to go. Give me a kiss first?"

"Always." He leant in, gave me a kiss that was way too short in my opinion, and basically shoved me out of his car.

"What was that for?"

"What? You've gotta go!"

"You fucking dork," I rolled my eyes at him, "bye, Gee."

"Goodbye, Frankie." I walked around the car to the trunk and opened it, grabbing the bag with my new stuff in it, as well as my beautiful new guitar. I marveled at it for a second before slamming the trunk shut and heading towards my well worn front door. Well, not without a last longing glance at the beauty that was Gerard, and a halfhearted wave that was replied to with a wink, and the sound of tires against pavement as he drove away.

"Mom, I'm home!" I called. The house smelled like my mom's homemade vegetarian lasagna that might just be the best thing I'd ever put in my mouth, well, so far anyway, which was always a good sign.

"In here!" I made my way to the kitchen where my darling mother, bless her soul, was leaning against the counter, inattentively waiting for the lasagna to bake while picking at her fingernails.

"Finally! I've been in here all day, slaving over the stove, just to make you your favorite meal, my world famous vegetarian lasagna, and where were you? Out "chillin" with your "bros" and your _boyfriend_." I didn't know that it was possible for people to be that sarcastic and melodramatic.

"Never say "bros" ever again. Please. For my sanity." She just rolled her eyes. Like mother like son I guess.

"Why my dear Frankie, is that a new _guitar_ you're holding? Is that boyfriend of yours rich or something?" Again, with the melodrama. At least you could tell where I got it from.

"Maybe..."

"Oooh, somebody's got themselves a rich boyfriend!"

"Oh my god mom, this is why I didn't want to come home."

"You love it, don't lie!"

"Trust me, I'm not lying."

"Fine, well, you love me so..."

"You got me there."

"Awww, Frankie, I love you, too." She then forcibly pulled me into a bone crushing hug and smothered me with kisses.

" _Mom!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I hope you enjoyed! I actually have a writing schedule now so hopefully the next chapter should be up in like two weeks. Also the chapter title is from Saturday by Fall Out Boy which I think is funny because this chapter takes place on Saturday.


	7. Baby, Seasons Change But People Don't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the abundance of fall out boy chapter titles lol

It turned out that Gerard was stuck at home all Sunday with a stupid English essay (it would be best if you read those last two words in the whiniest voice you can muster), so I had just spent the day inside, playing my brand new guitar, because Brendon and Ryan had kind of stolen my car. The assured me that it would be returned the following day. I assumed that they meant once we got to school, so I was forced to call upon my lovely boyfriend for a ride.

Just as I had finished meticulously applying the eyeliner that was essentially the foundation of my existence, I got a text from said boyfriend telling me that he was outside. I grabbed my bag, shoving my phone in pocket, and ran out the door.

"Morning, gorgeous." I said as I climbed into the passenger seat, slightly out of breath. Who knew I was that out of shape?

"G'morning handsome."

"Jesus, we sound like an old married couple from the 60s."

"Is that not what we are?"

"No, we are not, in fact, old, married, or from the 1960s,"

"Yet,"

"Oh shut up!"

"If you say so." He winked, the flirty motherfucker, and pulled me in for kiss.

"Just drive, babe, we're going to be late, and I need to steal my car back from Brendon."

"Okay, okay." He started the car, grabbing my hand as he always did.

"I see you're wearing those gloves I bought you... I like them. They really suit you." He commented, glancing at them once before diverting his gaze back to the road.

"Thanks, baby! I really like them, too." I hate to admit that I was blushing like a schoolgirl at that one small compliment, but I was. It seemed that Gerard just had that effect on me.

We pulled into the school's parking lot in no time. Luckily, Brendon was kinda smart sometimes and parked in my spot instead of his own, making the whole ordeal of stealing my car back infinitely simpler.

"Bren!" I called as I opened the car door. He was leaning against my car like he was trying to replace me or something. The bitch was even wearing eyeliner.

"Your car, sir. As promised." Man was Brendon bad at British accents. At least I had my car back.

"Thanks," I said, sarcasm coating the word like poison, "where's Ryan? I thought you guys were like attached at the hip or some shit."

"Turns out Ry's a fucking nerd who actually studies for tests, so he's already in class studying before the math exam," Brendon glanced at his phone, presumably checking the time, "I better go too, actually. My mom's going to kill me if I fail another test. See ya, Frank."

"Yeah, see ya, Brendon. Um, good luck I guess." I don't think he heard that last bit because he was already gone by the time it fell past my lips.

I had the sudden urge to play with Gerard's hair, but who doesn't, honestly? The only difference is that I was allowed to. To do that, however, I had to find him first, because he definitely wasn't in his car. My eyes scanned past the hordes of students milling about, looking for a specific pop of black hair in a sea of many. I thought I spotted him near the front doors of the school, but it was impossible to tell what he was up to from where I was standing. Oh, well. I wove my way through the abundance of people over to the crown of jet black hair that was unmistakably Gerard's.

"Hey, babe!" I exclaimed, promptly threading my fingers through his hair like I had intended to.

"Hi, sugar," Gerard said distractedly, "anyway, as I was saying..."

"Sugar? You never called me any cute names like that!" An clearly female voice said, shocking me somewhat. Once I'd had a moment to process the information, it was obvious that the voice was Lindsey. Gerard must have been talking to her before I came and interrupted them accidentally. When I turned my head to look at her, I saw that she was wearing a much more revealing outfit than she usually would. She also had on about ten times more makeup than she generally did. Maybe she was trying to get Gerard back?

"I didn't know you wanted me to,"

"I couldn't have hurt,"

"I don't think it would have helped our romantic incompatibility either, Lindsey! I love you, and you know that, just not in that way, and I never really did, which is why we never worked. And you must have known that too, at least subconsciously, which is why you cheated on me. Our relationship was tearing our friendship apart, so I'm almost glad that you did, even if it's just because I wanted an excuse to break up with you." I couldn't help but wince when he said he loved her. I mean, I knew it wasn't like that at all, but hearing your boyfriend say that he loves his ex is still uncomfortable.

"I love you, too, Gerard. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

"You didn't, not really. Plus, if you hadn't cheated on me, I never would have realized that I lo...liked Frank, and I wouldn't be this happy right now, so I actually wanted to thank you."

"Don't thank me, you deserve to be happy. Even if the person who makes you that way isn't me." She plastered a smile onto her face, though it was obvious that she was a little more upset than she let on, but I could tell that she meant what she said.

"Still friends?" Gerard asked.

"Still friends." Lindsey echoed. He pulled her into a friendly embrace that seemed an awful lot like a goodbye to me. Their situation was kind of sad, if you thought about it. _I_ even thought it was sad, and I was the one who really benefited from the whole ordeal.

"I'll see you around, Lindsey."

"Yeah, I'll see you around." She walked away with a dejected look on her face. I almost felt bad for her, but also not really because it was kinda her fault.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

"I think so. It's not like I'll never see her again, we're still friends."

"Alright, baby. You know I'm always here for you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I appreciate it, really." He opened his arms in an invitation that I glady accepted, though I blushed slightly when he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. We just stood there in a warm embrace all the way until the bell rang.

"I don't want to go to class,"

"I won't let you skip class _again_ just because you think I need comforting. I think I'll be fine until I see you again at lunch."

"I know you'll be fine, it's me who needs the hug. I'm cold."

"Take this then." He shrugged off his jacket and held it out to me.

"I can't take this! Then _you'll_ be cold!"

"Just fucking take it Frank!" I couldn't tell if he was actually mad at me or if he was just done with my shit.

"Fine!" I grabbed the jacket in question and put it on over my own almost immediately because I really was freezing.

"It smells like you,"

"Okay?"

"I love it, it's mine now sorry."

"You are so annoying. Go to class."

"Not without a kiss first." I puckered my lips obnoxiously to emphasize my point.

"If that's what it's going to take to get you to fucking go to class, then I guess I can stomach it."

"Just shut up and kiss me already!" He pulled me forward by the collar of my (his) jacket, pressing his lips onto mine with so much force that I had to suppress a whimper. Imagine how bad it would have been if someone had heard me _whimpering_ in front of the school.

"That good enough for you?"

"Yes!" I said, a little breathless.

"Good. Now go to class!" He shoved me in the general direction of my first class. How he knew what my schedule I had no idea. Maybe he secretly stalked me or some shit. I wouldn't put it past him.

"Your wish is my command, sire." I said in a British accent almost as bad as Brendon's, yelling a, "see you at lunch babe!" over my shoulder as I headed for class.

***

My classes were boring as per usual, and I was pretty sure that I failed that stupid math test. I blamed Gerard for that because I spent all of my time with him instead of studying like I should have been.

Everything seemed a little...off when I filed into the cafeteria with the crowd of students who were also intending to eat lunch. I don't know what it was, just something in the air felt wrong. Different. And not good different either. Bad different. I came to the conclusion that the football team had probably returned from wherever the fuck they were. The usually rambunctious lunchroom was nearly silent, as if it was anticipating a climactic scene of melodrama to occur during the short lunch period. I hoped that I wasn't going to be in the center of it, but that was wishful thinking, and I knew it too.

I approached the lunch table cautiously, not quite sure how to act. Everyone else was already there, nervous looks on their faces, as if they had already come to the same conclusion that I had. Even Pete was hushed, the only sound coming from him was the click, click, click of fingernails being anxiously bitten. I sat down next to Gerard, grabbing his hand underneath the table. I wanted to comfort him because what was coming next was not going to be pleasant, and I was sure that anxiety was already eating him up inside, but the nature of the imminent danger stopped me from doing it properly. I guess it helped at least a little bit considering he mouthed a, "thank you," at me. I couldn't even think about eating my food. Even if I had attempted to, it would have come right back up.

There wasn't a bang or a flash, which was sort of anticlimactic, when they walked in, just the creaking of hinges, and the squeak of wet shoes on linoleum. They didn't say anything at first either, just scanned the room, making eye contact with a few people along the way, finally settling on one sight in particular. Me. Their leader's eyes narrowed in disgust, his cronies following in his lead soon thereafter. The only sound in the cafeteria at this point was the continued squeaking of their shoes as they paraded over to us like a predator _finally_ pouncing on its prey.

"Looks like the emo fag finally got another boyfriend," I didn't say anything, just stared him in the eyes defiantly, "too bad it had to be one of our own though."

"What do you want, Trey?"

"I just wanted to tell that bitch whose hand you're holding that he's just a worthless slut and that the world would be better off without his ugly fag ass face in it." Trey turned his attention to Gerard, who was already starting to tear up, "We were never friends, you were just a little whore that we kept around to be our bitch."

"Don't you _dare_ talk to him like that." I seethed, my fist about twenty seconds away from colliding with that jackass's face. Rage buzzed in my head, obscuring my vision and my hearing, making it almost impossible to hear Gerard crying behind me, or see Pete pulling him into his arms, Ryan rubbing his back, or Brendon standing protectively over the three of them.

"What did you just say, fag?"

"I _said_ ," I stood up, determined to beat that bastard's ass despite the fact that he was about ten times bigger than me, "that if you ever make him cry again, I won't hesitate to put you six feet under the ground while your friends and family watch." I spat on his face in a final act of spite.

"Look at this fellas! The little bitch thinks he can beat my ass. How charming." He wiped my spit off of his face, being very careful not to get any on his skin as if being gay was a contagious disease or some shit. I don't know why he tried so hard. It was basically common knowledge that he was fucking the football coach.

Trey looked around the cafeteria as if he was expecting everyone to start cheering at his idiotic attempt to humiliate me. It was crazy that he was seen as popular, because nearly everybody hated him for the shit he put everybody through daily. I suppose be had just berated the rest of the school into submission.

When no one reacted in any way, Trey turned back to me, ultimately deciding to get this over with, and punched me directly in the eye. It hurt like a bitch, but it was well worth it to protect Gerard. I recoiled for a second, fighting off the pain, then swung back. I hit him square in the nose and used the moment of shock to knee him in the balls and kick him to ground.

When he didn't move for a few seconds I figured it was safe, so I turned around, thanked my friends quickly, and picked Gerard up bridal style. You wouldn't think that I'd be able to considering he was a good four inches taller than me, but he was surprisingly light. Either that or I was stronger than I thought. He was still crying, though. Nobody was paying attention to me anymore, so no one really noticed when I carried Gerard out of the cafeteria, but I still felt like a badass. A badass that still had lot of work to do, however.

The courtyard was littered with couples that were eating lunch outside just so that they could make out without a teacher seeing them. They didn't even look over at me as I crossed the parking lot to Gerard's car, which was good because I'm sure I looked terrible.

Gerard was still crying when I carefully set him down in the backseat of his car. My heart hurt seeing him cry like that. All I wanted was for him to be happy. Why did Trey have to be such an ass just to compensate for how small his dick was? Honestly. He could have gotten a big truck, but no, he had to hurt the person I care about.

I slid into the backseat, pulling Gerard into my arms similar to the way he had just a few days prior, rubbing his back, and pressing soft kisses to his head until he calmed down.

"Baby, you know that everything they said isn't true, right? You're so beautiful it hurts my eyes a little when you smile at me. I can't even begin to understand how someone as perfect as you can stand to be with me. You're everything that I could ever want. I _need_ you in my life because you make me so unbelievably happy that if I ever lost you I'd get serotonin withdrawal. The world is a better place just because you exist in it. You're worth _everything_ , Gerard. Do you understand me?" I almost broke into tears just trying to find a way to explain how much he meant to me. Even thinking of him not being around me shot the feeling of utter despair throughout my body. I couldn't take it if anything ever happened to him.

"Frank I-" His voice broke mid sentence, as if the words he needed to say got caught in his throat. I could feel the semi dried tears on his cheeks as I cupped his face, using my thumb to brush away any remaining ones. His fingers were ice cold as he interlocked them on the back of my neck, pulling me closer until our lips met in a broken but tender display of appreciation and affection. I could hardly stop myself from confessing my love once we pulled away. It was too soon. I was completely sure of what I felt but it was just too soon for me to be sure that he felt the same way. I didn't want to embarrass myself by telling him I love him just for him to say that he only liked me a little bit. I would be mortified.

"Are you okay, Frankie?" Gerard asked softly.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? It's you who got hurt..." He just ran his fingertips over my black eye that was already forming in response.

"Right, that. No, baby, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I reassured, pulling his hand off of my face.

"If you say so." I kissed him once more.

"I'm taking you home, okay? Well, not your home. My home. And we're going to cuddle with a big blanket, and snacks, and we're going to watch movies all afternoon. Does that sound okay?"

"But we can't keep skipping class, Frankie."

"Fuck class. I know for a fact that neither of us has missed a class all year except for Friday. We'll be fine. What matters right now is that you feel better, because no one as amazing as you deserves to be sad."

"I don't deserve you, love." I felt my cheeks heating at just that one word yet again. I swear he did it on purpose.

"You deserve someone better than me, if we're being honest here."

"There's no one better than you for me. I don't know what I ever did without you."

"Stop saying things that aren't true, you know I hate lying!"

"I thought this was supposed to be about you telling me how great I am, not the other way around, so don't make me start."

"Fine, fine." I shook my head in disbelief at how hopeless the two of us were. It was like we couldn't tell the other how we felt about them without putting ourselves down in the process. It must be hard to hear.

"Can we go now?"

"Anything for you." I said with the cheesiest grin imaginable on my face.

"Oh shut up and start driving." I climbed into the driver's seat, leaving Gerard in the back to cuddle with one of my hoodies, and started driving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, hope you enjoyed. This chapter was kind of hard for me to write because I literally don't know how to be mean, and what even is violence? So I'm sorry if it's unrealistic. Also please comment if you're still reading this because I'm an attention whore thanks.


End file.
